Pac-12 in NCAA Tournament: Arizona Rolls; USC's Amazing Last-Minute Rally Falls Short

If it's possible to win by 17 points, shoot 55% from the floor and still look vulnerable, Arizona pulled it off in its 87-70 victory over Wright State in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday in San Diego.

With Arizona's win, two of the three Pac-12 teams in the NCAA tournament advanced to the second round, with USC being eliminated despite making an amazing last-minute comeback to nearly pull out the win, as we will spell out later in this report.

Top-seeded Arizona was without point guard Kerr Kriisa (ankle) for the third straight game on Friday, but it still did not figure to have much trouble with 16th-seeded Wright State, which finished fourth in the Horizon League but won the conference tournament.

The Wildcats led the entire game and had five players score in double figures, led by Pac-12 player of the year Bennedict Mathurin, who had 18 points, and center Christian Koloko, who finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.

But Arizona (32-3) failed to cover the 21.5-point spread because it was rather sloppy, The Wildcats committed 19 turnovers, which kept the Raiders in the game early in the second half.

Arizona never seemed to be in danger of losing the game, but the Wildcats led by just seven points with 16:37 left in the game before Wright State ran out of juice.

Kriisa was in uniform Friday but never got off the bench, but there is a chance he will play in Sunday's game against the winner of Friday night's first-round game between TCU and Seton Hall.

The Wildcats will need to be more efficient than they were Friday

Miami-Fla. 68, USC 66

Seventh-seeded USC made a remarkable comeback in the final minute to give itself a chance, but former Cal player Charlie Moore hit two free throws with three seconds left to give 10th-seeded Miami-Fla. the win in Greenville, S.C.

The Trojans (26-8) trailed by seven points with 44 seconds left.

USC's Drew Peterson then made a three-pointer with 32.6 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to four, and after Miami committed a turnover in the backcourt against USC's press, Peterson hit another three-pointer at the 25.3-second mark to close to within a point.

After Miami's Sam Waardenburg hit the second of two free throws with 24.3 seconds to go to put the Hurricanes ahead by two, Peterson drove the lane and scored to tie the game at 66-66 with 14.2 seconds remaining.

That's when Moore, who played for Cal in 2016-17 and has played for three other colleges since, drove the lane as the clock ran down. USC's Chevez Goodwin blocked Moore's contested layup attempt but made plenty of body contact, and Moore was awarded two free throws with 3.0 seconds remaining.

---Listen to the video atop the story to learn of Charlie Moore's college basketball journey---

Moore made both free throws to put the Hurricanes ahead by two, but Peterson nearly won it with a desperation halfcourt shot that hit the backboard and the front rim before bounding out at the buzzer.

USC had been 6-0 in games decided by three points or fewer this season before Friday's loss.

Moore, who also played for Kansas and DePaul before joining the Miami starting lineup this season, wound up with 16 points, five assists and four steals.

Isaiah Wong led the Hurricanes with 22 points before fouling out, and Peterson led the Trojans with 17 points, including those eight points in the final 33 seconds.

USC got back in the game after a horrible first half in which they shot 30.8%, turned the ball over 12 times and scored a season-low 20 points. The Trojans trailed by 13 points late in the first half, but quickly got back in the game in the second half, with Boogie Ellis on the bench to start the second half.

Reese Dixon-Waters, who came off the bench to score 16 points, and Isaiah Mobley, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, led the Trojans' charge in the second half, and they led several times down the stretch.

Cover photo of Bennedict Mathurin by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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